New management team in Linz: Two deputy mayors for the city!

New management team in Linz: Two deputy mayors for the city!

On August 28, 2025, Linz Mayor Dietmar Prammer (SPÖ) announced significant changes in the city's government structure. Prammer, who was born on September 9, 1974 and has been in office as mayor since February 6, 2025, announced that he will hand over his responsibilities for city properties. At the same time, he is expanding his area of ​​responsibility to include integration agendas. This is happening as part of a retreat between the party executive and the local council faction, which marks the start of a new era in Linz's city government.

The two new deputy mayors, Karin Leitner and Merima Zukan, were introduced. The personnel move takes place in the context of the resignation of Vice Mayor Tina Blöchl and the impending retirement of Vice Mayor Karin Hörzing and parliamentary group leader Stefan Giegler in the fall.

Departmental divisions and new responsibilities

The responsibilities in the city government are being redistributed. Merima Zukan will take over the HR and municipal real estate agendas, while Karin Leitner will also handle Hörzing's responsibilities in addition to Blöchl's LGBTIQ+ initiatives. Thomas Gegenhuber, who takes over as parliamentary group chairman, will keep the areas of economic policy and city finances under his control. Prammer's proposal to restructure the city government found a large majority in the board and the local council group.

Dietmar Prammer, who previously served as First Vice Mayor and took over the mayor's duties in 2024, was the SPÖ candidate in the mayoral election in January 2025. He won the runoff election on January 26, 2025 with an outstanding 77.1% of the votes. During his political career, Prammer has held numerous positions, including political secretary and managing director at Johannes Kepler University.

The necessary formal steps to confirm the new personnel structure must take place in the local council in the fall. These structural innovations reflect the dynamic development within the SPÖ Linz and the challenges that the city will have to overcome in the future.

For Prammer, who has been active in the SPÖ since his youth and has held various positions within the party, this is a central step to give more importance to the integration agenda in Linz and to promote social coexistence.

Further information about Dietmar Prammer and his political career can be found on his Wikipedia page to find. The media reports in detail on the current developments in Linz, such as: OE24.